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CGIAR and IFAD Highlight the Importance of Partnership-Based Research

31 March 2010: At the first Global Conference on Agriculture Research for Development (GCARD) held in Montpelier, France, from 29-31 March 2010, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) introduced its proposed large-scale collective-action programmes through eight thematic areas, including one on climate change and agriculture.

CGIAR's focus on collective-action programmes aims to encourage partnership and concrete results. The climate change work is expected to produce vulnerability assessments that lead to better use of adaptation and mitigation technologies. In addition to climate change and agriculture, other thematic areas include: agricultural systems for the poor and vulnerable; enabling agricultural incomes for the poor; optimizing productivity of global food security crops; agriculture nutrition and health; water, soils and ecosystems; forests and trees; and agricultural biodiversity.

In his opening remarks, Kanayo Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), stressed the need to focus agricultural research on climate change adaptation. He highlighted collaborative work between IFAD and CGIAR, noting that the solution to ensuring food security and mitigating climate change lies in agricultural research partnerships. He called for more research on drought-tolerant seeds, underscoring recent advances on rice and cassava seeds.

GCARD is organized by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), in collaboration with CGIAR, and will be a biennial meeting that will replace the triennial GFAR meetings and the annual general meetings of the CGIAR. [Meeting Website] [Blog on GCARD 2010]